"You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit."— Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray)

Monday, January 28, 2013

SOCIOPATHS KNOW NOTHING OF HONOR...EVEN IF THEY THINK THEY DO

GRAB YOUR GUN AND BRING IN THE CATBY PATIENT GAVALIKFrom the time we’re old enough
to read a children’s book, each boy and girl is taught about great historical
figures who overcame unprecedented opposition to advance a mission or succeed in
a chosen pursuit. Even though we live in a culture that rewards greed and often
punishes selflessness, the prominent individuals we’re taught to admire from an
early age are not CEOs or advertising executives. Instead, the better angels of
our families and teachers wrap our minds in the tapestry of stories about
religious figures, war heroes, and courageous political leaders. There’s one
thing this group possesses that the former does not.

Honor.

Make no mistake about it. Throughout the civilized
world, each person grows up with a keen understanding of humanity’s secular
religion: the worthy garners esteem among their contemporaries, by performing
one or more acts of bravery to ensure a noted place in history.

In fiction, we use this notion of honor to build heroic
characters that the masses can identify with and root for throughout a written
story, live theatre, or motion picture. Mythology master, Joseph Campbell,
discusses this kind of human psychology in his book, The
Hero’s Journey. His thesis is that mankind throughout human history has
bestowed honor and courage onto legendary figures in myth and religious
doctrine. The point being, these myths are used to teach us (or inspire an
instinctual belief) in what makes a moral and honorable person.

Hell, even in modern storytelling, the antihero is a
dishonored person or coward that’s forced to strive for an honorable outcome in
a story’s plot. Rarely, if ever, do we see a complete aversion to the myths of
honor that mankind has perpetuated for millennia.

In modern life, we see the importance of honor play out
most commonly in the biographies of our political leaders. They are the one
group of people who have the financial resources and power to advance heroic
story lines that play into the mythological needs of a population. It doesn’t
matter how true or false their stories are. It’s the perception of honor that
matters.

We as a society also place a value of honor onto our
soldiers, sailors, firefighters, nurses, and police officers. We find it
comforting that these people are looked upon as heroic figures in our social
narrative. These people forego financial rewards and risk their lives on a
regular basis to earn the respect that comes with the elevated distinction of
being an honorable professional. Sure, there’s an argument to be made about the
human need for adventure, but that need is often fulfilled by self-serving acts
of skydiving or bungee jumping.

Honor is about the virtue of sacrificing one’s personal
desires or needs for the good of others.

That’s why Captain James Kirk in Star Trek is a less
honorable character than Commander William Adama in the modern version of
Battlestar Galactica. Both lead thrilling lives and take risks to accomplish
their goals. Both carry the responsibility of thousands of lives on their ships.
Both fight technologically advanced enemies on a regular basis. But Kirk does it
because he believes he’s the only one that can. Adama simply rises to meet the
challenges presented. Kirk fights because he believes it’s his life’s work and
therefore, he’s sacrificing little. Adama accepted retirement until the Cylons
obliterated his civilization.

Think about it this way. Kirk freely admits that he
“cheats death” and places his trust into the hands of Spock and McCoy to handle
the challenges of each storyline. On the other hand, Adama tells his crew they
have to “roll the hard six,” an indirect statement that they’re sacrificing much
to accomplish a goal. He tells Starbuck to “Grab your gun and bring in the cat,”
to reel her in from Kirk-like theatrics so he can absorb the brunt of honorable
sacrifice.

Lastly, Kirk never fully accepts the Klingons as true
equals. They are always adversaries to never be trusted. Adama wrestles with the
moral definitions of what it is to be Human vs. Cylon and grows into a better man from learning. He literally sacrifices part of
his own humanity to accept others.

To test our understanding of honor, let’s choose who is
the more honorable figure: Obi Wan Kenobi or Han Solo?

Most would immediately say Obi-Wan, because he’s a
noble Jedi that dedicated his life to the Force while Han is considered
scandalous. Obi-Wan worked all his life to ensure peace and advancement of his
faith in the universe...and he sacrificed his own life for Luke
Skywalker.

Yes, Obi-Wan is an honorable character and his place in
George Lucas’ story is paramount. But Obi-Wan didn’t break the mold of his
conditioning. He didn’t reach beyond his own training or mindset to achieve his
goals. He played a noble cog in the machine of morality.

Han Solo is actually the more honorable character. He’s
the man that sacrificed everything to join the good guys. His character went
through a metamorphosis from unethical smuggler to ardent supporter of a just
cause. By mythological definition, Han Solo is the most honorable character in
the Star Wars story...and that is specifically why girls like him best. Everyone
thinks it’s because he’s the edgiest and falls in love with Leia. In
psychological truth, it’s because he’s the only one that gives up everything he
knows to embrace what’s right and good.

When writing your next story, (fiction or nonfiction)
keep the true definition of honor in mind. Every story contains an honorable
character. By defining those attributes correctly, your hero or antihero will be
more broadly understood and accepted by a larger readership. That understanding
will secure a permanent place in the minds of your readers.

It’s not always easy, but sometimes you gotta roll the
hard six. Now, go make it happen!

Good hunting.BIO: Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ron Gavalik is a seasoned freelance journalist and fiction author of the successful Grit City thriller series. As Publisher for Grit City Publications, he oversees the Emotobooks Revolution. Ron holds an M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and a B.S. in Marketing Communications from Point Park University. When not writing, you can find him in the outdoors of Southwestern Pennsylvania on his trail bike, hiking, or fishing.

Behind the Madness

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her
work has been showcased in numerous anthologies such as Gutted:
Beautiful Horror Stories, Shadows Over Main Street: An Anthology of
Small-Town Lovecraftian Terror, Year's Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2,
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8, as well as many others.

Wytovich
is the Poetry Editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press, an adjunct at Western
Connecticut State University and Point Park University, and a mentor
with Crystal Lake Publishing. She is a member of the Science Fiction
Poetry Association, an active member of the Horror Writers Association,
and a graduate of Seton Hill University’s MFA program for Writing
Popular Fiction. Her Bram Stoker Award-winning poetry collection,
Brothel, earned a home with Raw Dog Screaming Press alongside Hysteria:
A Collection of Madness, Mourning Jewelry, An Exorcism of Angels, and
Sheet Music to My Acoustic Nightmare. Her debut novel, The Eighth, is
published with Dark Regions Press.

Follow Wytovich at http://www.stephaniewytovich.com/ and on twitter @SWytovich​.